What is the right Pilot Licence for you?

In Europe, you can obtain a variety of pilot licences, ranging from basic recreational licences to professional licences for commercial and airline pilots. The main difference between these 2 pilot licence categories is price and purpose:

The recreational pilot licence allow you to fly an aircraft for leisure purposes, while the commercial will allow you to earn money as a pilot.

Each licence has its own set of requirements and rules, and as a future pilot you need to understand the differences between them to make informed decisions about the career paths. You need a commercial pilot license to become a professional pilot and make it your career.

This article will discuss the different types of pilot licences in Europe, their differences, and the requirements for obtaining each one.

Recreational Licence

Commercial Licence

ATPL Theory exams

Privileges of holding a CPL

How to unfreeze the ATPL?

 

 

Recreational Pilot Licence:

 

LAPL 

The European LAPL licence (Light Aircraft Pilot Licence) is the simplest licence you can obtained in the member states. Through the LAPL course, you get a first licence as a pilot of very small airplanes, known as ultra-lights. You will be certified to pilot an aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of 2000 kg and up to four seats.

Theoretical knowledge:

The exam consists of multiple-choice tests. They cover areas like air law, aircraft and engines, meteorology, flight performance and planning, human performance and limitations.

Practical operations:

Flight test is conducted in a single-engine aircraft and consists of a pre-flight briefing, a flight test, and a post-flight debriefing.

 

It´s less expensive than a PPL, but you need to fly 10 hours post-licence issue before you can carry passengers, which would be your friends and family, as you cannot engage in commercial activities. Due to this restriction, the price difference with a PPL becomes almost zero, so it´s better to do the PPL course instead, as is less restrictive and more complete.

 

PPL

When it comes to recreational aviation, one of the most important licences to obtain is the EASA Private Pilot Licence (PPL). EASA is the European Aviation Safety Agency. This licence is required for those who want to fly a light aircraft, for private or recreational purposes – Act as Pilot in Command or co-pilot without remuneration on airplanes engaged in non-commercial operations.

The EASA PPL is a very comprehensive licence that is the baseline for many other aviation licences and ratings. To obtain this licence, you must meet the minimum requirements set forth by the EASA. The requirements for the EASA PPL are split into three categories:

 

Physical and mental:

The physical and mental requirements are there to ensure that the pilot is physically and mentally able to fly. To meet these requirements, you must obtain a class 2 medical certificate from an approved medical examiner, and be at least 17 years old.

Theoretical knowledge:

To achieve theoretical knowledge, it is mandatory at least 100 hours of ground instruction and pass nine theoretical knowledge exams. This exams cover topics such as air law, flight performance and planning, human performance and limitations, and navigation.

Practical operations:

Finally, you have to complete the practical operations requirements – flight lessons under the supervision of a qualified flight instructor. This includes completing at least 45 hours of flight time (including 10 hours of solo flight time) and 5 hours of solo cross-country flight time. The flight training must include a variety of different manoeuvres and activities, such as take-offs, landings, navigation, and emergency procedures.

Once the pilot has completed the practical operations requirements, they will be issued their EASA PPL. It is important to note that the licence does not allow the pilot to fly for commercial purposes.

 

To sum up, to obtain this pilot licence a training course at a Flight School (ATO) should be completed to pass several tests, including written exams and a practical flight test.

Here you can find Prices and duration of PPL.

 

Commercial Pilot Licence:

 

If you want to fly commercially, there is one licence that is over all others: the Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL). 

There are two ways to get this licence. Modular or integrated. Check our article Integrated vs modular pilot training – All you need to know to understand the differences.

Let’s focus on the integrated, as it´s the fastest way to go from zero experience to the flight deck of an airline in the shortest period.

To obtain an ATPL licence you start by holding a class 1 medical certificate from an approved medical examiner. Without it, you can forget a career as a commercial pilot. The second step is to guarantee you have enough funds to complete the course. Finally, you should select carefully the best Flight School for you.

Even if the course is called integrated ATPL, in reality, you will obtain a CPL with ATPL theory credits + MEIR + MCC + UPRT + PBN. All are required to obtain the ATPL.

. CPL – Commercial Pilot Licence

. MEIR – Multi-Engine Instrument Rating

. MCC – Multi-Crew Cooperation Course

. UPRT – Upset Prevention & Recovery Training

. PBN – Performance Based Navigation certification,

Instead of the mandatory MCC, some schools like Quality Fly offer an Airline Pilot Standards Multi Crew Cooperation course (APS MCC). This course doubles the time of multi-crew work, and airlines expect you to have it nowadays.

This Licence is also called Frozen ATPL and will remain frozen until you have enough experience. Nevertheless, you can immediately start to work in an airline with a frozen ATPL.

The Frozen ATPL or CPL with ATPL theory credits is issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). It is a licence that allows pilots to fly commercial aircraft for hire or reward. This is the licence that you will get when you successfully finish the training in a flight school.

 

Requirements

The CPL requires a minimum of 200 hours of flight time, including at least 70 hours of pilot-in-command time. The CPL also requires the successful completion of several theoretical exams, as well as skill tests.

The theoretical knowledge requirement consists of 13 different exams covering different subjects. You must pass all to obtain the licence.

 

These ATPL Theory exams are:

 

Air Law:

The air law exam covers topics such as international and national aviation regulations, laws and rules.

General Navigation:

Different maps, plotting great circles, measuring temperature, altitude, speed, etc.

Radio Navigation:

You will learn about the various radio navigation aids employed in daily operations when studying radio navigation.

Human Performance and Limitations:

You will learn important physiologic and psychologic human factors to execute a flight safely.

Communications:

You will need to be familiar with communications with air traffic control. From general operating procedures, distress and urgency procedures to relevant weather information.

Meteorology:

One of the most important parts of a pilot´s knowledge. Before every flight, you as the piloto in command need to check and decide if the flight will be safe to conduct and prepare for hazards that can occur. Meteorology includes the atmosphere and the consequences of different weather, cloud and atmospheric conditions on flight operations.

Operational Procedures:

Covers topics such as regulations and procedures, flight planning, flight monitoring, and flight management.

Flight Planning and Flight Monitoring:

You will learn the regulations and components necessary for plotting and executing a flight. This includes understanding the computations required for the flight, such as altitude, velocity, fuel consumption, and ground clearance.

Aircraft General Knowledge:

The aircraft technical exams cover topics such as airframe and powerplant, aircraft systems, and aircraft instruments.

Instrumentation:

Every instrument on an aircraft, how they work and the correct way to use them.

Mass and Balance:

You will discover how to compute the center of gravity of an aircraft to guarantee it stays within the accepted parameters during flight. This ATPL exam is relatively brief and requires knowledge of mathematics and the ability to interpret graphs.

Performance:

Performance is a complex subject, requiring you to understand how an aircraft behaves in different phases of flight. You must be able to calculate take-off and landing data, as well as interpret graphs for all stages of flight.

Principles of Flight:

You will learn to comprehend the lift, drag, thrust, and weight forces that act on an aircraft during flight, as well as stability, aerodynamics and limitations. For this subject, it is necessary to have a strong understanding of mathematics.

 

You must pass all exams at an approved EASA training facility to obtain the EASA CPL with ATPL theory credits.

 

Holding a CPL, even when your ATPL is still frozen, allows you to:

 

– Act as Pilot in Command (PIC) or co-pilot of any aircraft engaged in operations other than commercial air transport; So, for example, you can rent a Cessna 172 and fly with your friends to Ibiza.

– Act as Pilot in Command (PIC) in commercial air transport of any single-pilot aircraft subject to the restrictions. You can immediately start to work professionally as a pilot in command in any aircraft that doesn´t need mandatory 2 or more pilots. For example, you can be hired by a private jet company to command a Cessna Citation. Also, you can work as a flight instructor if you do a FI course.

– Act as co-pilot in commercial air transport. This is the most wanted option. Any airline can hire you to be a second officer or first officer, you will only need to do the type rating of the aircraft you will fly. You will share all the piloting and duties with the captain, but you will be officially an airline pilot.

As we explained, the CPL with ATPL theory credits is a prestigious licence. Allows you to fly large commercial aircraft, such as the Airbus A320 or the Boeing 737. It is a challenging licence that requires dedication and hard work, but it is also incredibly rewarding for those who obtain it.

 

So, the big question is, how to unfreeze the ATPL Pilot Licence?

 

Very easy. After you start to work on an airline and complete 1500 flying hours, including 500 hours of multi-crew environment and be at least 21 years of age, your ATPL licence becomes Unfrozen. 

 When your ATPL is unfrozen, you can become a Captain in any aircraft, no matter how many passengers you carry or the weight of the aircraft.

Conclusion 

In Europe, there are a variety of pilot licences available, ranging from basic recreational licences to professional licences for commercial and airline pilots. Each licence has its own set of requirements and rules. You need to understand the differences between them to make informed decisions about your career path.

At Quality Fly we are ready to explain to you all the details and how to become a commercial Pilot

The post What is the right Pilot Licence for you? first appeared on Quality Fly Flight School.

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Why gliding makes you a better airline pilot?

Mankind has long desired the ability to fly like hawks and eagles. Soaring flight is made feasible by modern sailplanes, enabling people to glide higher, faster, and further relying solely on an invisible force of nature to maintain altitude.

A glider is a fixed-wing aircraft whose free flight is supported by the air’s dynamic reaction to its lifting surfaces rather than by an engine. Most gliders lack an engine, but some motor gliders have small ones that they can use to retain their altitude and, in some cases take off and extend their flight.

The difference between a sailplane and a normal airplane with engines is not only the lack of engines, but also the large wing span that gives the glider or sailplane a higher efficiency because of the high aspect ratio. Other differences include, for example, the cockpit instrumentation or the cables normally used for take-off.

A glider’s performance is mainly evaluated using its glide ratio. This ratio reveals how far a glider may travel horizontally in relation to the height it descends. Modern gliders can reach lift-to-drag ratios of up to 60:1. That means that if they begin their glide at a height of one mile, they can travel 60 miles forward. In comparison, a modern commercial airliner has a glide ratio of about 17:1.

Unique among sports, gliding delivers a sense of freedom. As your piloting abilities advance, you will learn to take off in a sailplane from the airport while using your own skills and judgment to assess the terrain and weather. As a gliding pilot, you are no longer restricted to the surface of the earth. Instead of merely taking in the scenery or the sky, you will actively search for lift indicators in the atmosphere, such as birds and the maturity of cumulus clouds, and you will develop an appreciation for the terrain features that can aid or impede your efforts to continue maintaining your altitude.

How do gliders stay in the air?

Utilizing Mother Nature’s assistance wherever feasible is the secret to being in the air for long periods of time. When compared to the air surrounding it, a glider will gently descend, but what if the air was rising quicker than the glider was descending? Similar to paddling a kayak upstream, you may be moving through the water at a fair speed, but you aren’t really getting much closer to the riverbank.

With gliders, the same principle applies. You are actually gaining altitude if you are descending at one meter per second while the air surrounding the plane is increasing at two meters per second.

There are three main types of rising air used by glider pilots to increase flight times

• Thermals
• Ridge lifts
• Wave Lifts

Thermals are rising air columns caused by the Earth’s surface heating. The sun’s heat causes the air close to the ground to expand and rise. Pilots watch for terrain that reflects the early sun more quickly than its surroundings. Finding thermal columns is easy in places like rocky terrain, dark ploughed fields, and asphalt parking lots. Another sign of thermal activity that pilots watch for are newly developing cumulus clouds or even huge birds soaring without flapping their wings. When a pilot spots a thermal, they will circle inside it until they reach the appropriate altitude, at which point they will escape and continue flying. Within thermals, gliders all circle in the same direction to avoid misunderstanding. All subsequent gliders joining the thermal must circle in the direction chosen by the first glider to enter the thermal.

Ridge Lifts – Winds blowing against mountains, hills, or other ridges produce ridge lift. The air is deflected upward as it approaches the mountain and creates a band of lift along the slope’s windward side. Ridge lift rarely rises more than a few hundred feet above the surrounding landscape. Gliders have been known to soar for a thousand miles along mountain chains using mostly ridge lift and wave lift, making up for what ridge lift lacks in height with length.

Wave Lifts – In that wind encounters a mountain, wave lift is analogous to ridge lift in that it occurs. However, winds that pass over the mountain rather than up one side produce wave lift on the leeward side of the top. The distinctive cloud structures produced by wave lift can be used to identify it. Gliders can soar to heights of more than 35,000 feet and wave lift can reach heights of thousands of feet.

Transition from Gliders to Airlines

A wide range of flying adventures that are not typically available or affordable in powered aircraft are offered by gliding. Gliding gives the safest foundation for all types of flight, including power flying, making it the ideal approach to start learning to fly. Because of this, prior gliding expertise is highly respected when choosing pilots by both the airlines and the Military. Many commercial and military pilots learned to fly in gliders, and they can speak to the advantages of doing so. Some of those pilots still glide during their free time.

Airline Perspective

A minimum of 250–500 hours of prior flying experience is often required of candidates for airline pilot positions. Any authorized aircraft type, including gliders, can be used to obtain a sizable percentage of this experience.

More important than the quantity of flying experience may be the type of experience. The airlines do not necessarily believe that previous General Aviation experience is the greatest preparation for subsequent flying in the multi crew environment of big aircraft. Experience with gliding is given more weight.

On this subject, the 2013 Royal Aeronautical Society Conference on International Flight Crew Training was organized.

The consensus among most speakers and attendees during the conference was that airline pilots’ manual flying skills have deteriorated over the past 15 years. A new generation of pilots’ fundamental flying abilities have been deteriorating due to increased cockpit automation, strict standard operating procedures, more usage of flight simulators, and a smaller pool of military pilots.

At the same meeting, the following keynote queries regarding the problem of declining fundamental flying abilities in commercial pilot training were posed: Gliding might be a low-cost training option for maintaining the manual flying skills of airline pilots.

Gliders might be the answer to enhancing flight safety.

The most well-known example is actually Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, whose gliding expertise came in handy in the Hudson River in 2009 and allowed him to save all 155 passengers.

Military Perspective

The Australian Air Force Cadets program is run by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), which values gliding so highly that it conducts its own gliding activities for young people.

Glider pilot and U.S. Air Force Capt. Danny Sorenson instructs in F-16s. He said, “I’m always wondering where I can land this thing as a result of my glider training.” He added that simulated flame-outs were never an issue for him throughout his F-16 training, it’s instinctive, he said. “I’d just fly my circuit and glide in.”

Does gliding training make better power pilots?

Each provides a pilot with unique experiences. Making the analogy between sailing and motorboats may be the best way to convey this. Sailing is more of a sport, and performance is intimately tied to how one interprets the weather, nature, as well as one’s own skill and experience. Although both are sailors, the power boat sailor heavily relies on their motor to combat the wind and the elements.

You learn a lot about energy management

A power plane’s engine failure turns into a serious incident for the pilot, necessitating an emergency landing. Power pilots are naturally educated to search for and evaluate good emergency landing places. However, they RARELY have the chance to either complete their forced landing and validate their assessment from the ground, or to check the chosen landing place at a very low level. Instead, the instructor opens the throttle at about 200 feet above ground level, and the aircraft climbs away.

Pilots of gliders are taught to land correctly the first time, every time, since there are obviously no “go-arounds” allowed. Landing judgment on the part of the pilot must always be precise. To prepare for the eventuality of an engine failure which almost always occurs when you least expect it, all power pilots should master this ability.

Cross-country flight is the primary objective of most glider pilots. Before returning to where you started, you’ll frequently fly over several hundred kilometres of countryside. It happens occasionally that the weather (or the pilot’s performance on the day) doesn’t allow for finishing the flight because cross-country soaring can traverse such distances and take several hours.

Quality Fly Instructor

Sergio Gomez, one of the flight instructors in Quality fly, who is also an aeronautical engineer and an airline pilot who flew for Norwegian and Ryanair stated. We at Quality Fly found there are many aspects of gliding that can be transferred into the professional studies we provide. That’s why we started this programme where our students will get to not only experience this gliding but also get some theory lessons on gliding for their training to be enhanced. There are many ways in which gliding can help commercial pilots. During his cross-country flight, it has been recorded, him being airborne for over 8 hours relying solely on thermals. He believes that with this training transitioning to powered airplanes will be seamless. We’ve never met a glider pilot who couldn’t easily transition to flying a powered airplane.

In gliding you learn to fly far more accurately

A pilot’s ability to sense the air and feel how their aircraft is responding to it tends to be only partially connected when a power pilot is being propelled through it by an engine and propeller. When the pilot is not handling the aircraft well, the motor’s thrust can conceal this. When gliding, a pilot’s awareness of the properties of the air they are flying through and how precisely they are manoeuvring their aircraft through it is increased.

Reduced Drag

All airplanes suffer from drag, which is the air’s resistance to moving forward. Consider sailing a yacht while dragging your anchor down the bottom. Glider design responds to minimizing drag through streamlining with graceful, slender forms.

To minimize drag as much as possible, new gliders have a simple frontal profile. Many gliders have a piece of yarn attached to the canopy to help pilots to stay coordinated. Uncoordinated flight means more drag, and less time in the air.

To optimize the performance of an aircraft, gliding sharpens a pilot’s skill in flying smoothly through the air. Both powered and unpowered aircraft must comply with this. Effective drag reduction requires good rudder and aileron coordination, which, when used in all flight, leads to more precise, effective, and safe flying.

Dynamic Challenges

Whether traveling locally or nationally, every flight has unique problems. To get the most out of every flight, you are competing with nature, to put it another way, you are working with it.

When conditions are favourable for soaring, you can soar for 50, 300, 500, or 1,000 km on good days after becoming proficient. On bad soaring days, you are limited to within gliding distance of the airstrip. Therefore, the intelligence of the pilot is:

• To gather information;
• To find out what links them to understand the situation;
• To use it to make the best decisions.

While a glider pilot flies in an open environment where he must continually adapt, an airline pilot operates in a very closed environment with very little room for modification

Upset prevention, Recognition and Recovery Training

Aerobatics is one example. The national gliding syllabus’s pre-solo section is where fundamental aerobatic manoeuvres like stalls and spins are really taught. The majority of contemporary powered training solely discusses spin recovery. Before being given permission to fly their first solo, glider pilots must exhibit complete spin recovery. The majority of contemporary gliders are made with high “G” forces for aerobatics in mind.

Fly Higher

Cross-country glider pilots frequently reach altitudes of over 10,000 feet, and occasionally even 15,000 feet, under favourable summer soaring conditions with powerful thermals. Over 10,000 feet, oxygen is mandated by law. At these elevations, the view is just breathtaking. With frequent flights to altitudes of 25,000 feet, mountain wave lift can offer height increases considerably above this. 33000 feet, recorded at Bunyan near Canberra, is the current Australian height record for gliding.

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Quality Fly becomes the first EU carbon-neutral flight school

Quality Fly reinforces its innovation edge by becoming the first European Union flight schools to achieve carbon neutrality. This results from a full fleet modernisation that has cut our emissions by 50%, being supplied by fully renewable electricity and offseting our emissions through investments in clean energy projects, namely solar, wind and hydropower, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change program.

This is one more step on the continuous innovation path Quality Fly upholds, and complements previous improvements such as the inclusion of Full Flight Simulator (FFS) and gliding training, the completion of night flight in a MEP aircraft or the transition towards fully paperless processes.

The goal is to have a 100% electric fleet when the technology becomes fully operational.

 

Climate change is a global challenge that requires shared efforts to mitigate its most serious consequences. Starting in 2022, Quality Fly has become carbon-neutral, continuing to lead the endeavour to make flight schools more environmentally friendly.

By reducing our carbon footprint and offsetting the remaining emissions through investments in clean energy projects, we become the first flight school in Spain and one of the very few in Europe that offer carbon-neutral integrated and modular commercial pilot programmes.

We are proud to offer individuals pursuing a career in aviation an environmentally respectful and yet high-quality training option. We are certain that candidates value this factor and we hope that other schools will follow suit to achieve the highest impact.

This milestone moves us one step closer to our long-term goal of becoming a zero-emissions flight school. It applies to all flight programmes, requires no additional investment by the student and maintains Quality Fly at the forefront of European sustainable aviation. It also complements previous improvements that we have consolidated in the last years. Some of those related to environmental responsibility are:

• Our fleet has been fully renewed, thanks to considerable investments, by replacing the older generation fleet with comparable, modern aircraft that cut fuel consumption and emissions by as much as 50% on a per-hour basis.
• The student journey has become entirely paperless, from enrolment to ground training, flight operations and license issuance, saving several kilograms of paper and ink every day.
• More recently, Quality Fly has started to acquire 100% renewable electricity from clean energy producers, effectively reducing our office and administration climate impact to near zero. As in other European countries, the origin of this electricity is verified by independent auditors.
• As soon as the technology becomes fully operational, Quality Fly is determined to replace the carbon offsetting for a full 100% electric fleet.

What is carbon neutrality?

Carbon neutrality is a condition in which an individual or a company reduces its carbon footprint to zero. Carbon footprint refers to the emission of greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide, methane or nitrous oxide, among others) derived from the activity of this person or organisation. This can be achieved through a variety of measures:

• Reducing emissions: this can be done, for example, by improving the efficiency of the operations, removing unnecessary processes or using clean sources of energy.
• Offsetting emissions: since not all emissions can always be eliminated, the remaining carbon footprint may be compensated by supporting environmental projects that either prevent further emissions or directly absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere. Some examples of these are renewable energy production, reforestation or carbon capture, among others.

What carbon neutrality is not

Carbon neutrality is a necessary condition for complete sustainability, but it is not enough. Pollution may still be present locally when it is inevitable due to its activity, but climate change is addressed on a global level. Therefore, carbon neutrality is an important step towards the final goal, not the goal itself.

How Quality Fly achieves carbon neutrality

Quality Fly is constantly working on efficiency and overall improvements. Some of them have already been outlined above, such as the fleet renewal, the paperless transition and the 100% renewable electricity.

According to Juan Cervero, CEO of Quality Fly, “Since the flight training activity necessarily implies direct emissions, at least until electric aircraft are finally available and offer comparable capabilities, some emissions cannot be eliminated. Quality Fly has decided to voluntarily offset them by investing in clean energy projects in developing countries, namely India, which not only compensate for our carbon footprint, but also have a positive social and economic impact in the region. These projects include solar, wind and hydropower electricity generation. They are channelled through the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and verified by independent auditors using international standards.

For full transparency and accountability, Quality Fly estimates full-year figures for 2022 of more than 4,000 flight hours flown, or roughly 93,000 litres of gas used (Mogas or Avgas). This results in emissions of about 210-220 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.

The clean energy investments Quality Fly has made will save 240 tonnes of CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere, fully offsetting our direct emissions and energy usage (scopes 1 and 2), as certified in this official Voluntary Cancellation Certificate issued by the UNFCCC:

From carbon neutral to Zero emissions

Carbon neutrality is a further step towards a fully sustainable flight training world. It is feasible right now, both technically and economically, so there is no good reason to settle for less. However, it is by no means the end.

Juan Cervero explains that “At Quality Fly we are committed to excellence, innovation and environmental responsibility. After developing the most innovative ATPL integrated course in Europe, we also want to offer the greenest alternative. Looking forward, we will keep assessing further options to improve our training and to reduce our climate footprint, both in the short and long term. And we are excited about the ongoing development efforts in areas such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and hybrid and electric aviation”.

About Quality Fly – an international and innovative training atmosphere

Quality Fly is a flight academy based at Madrid-Cuatro Vientos Airport. The academy boasts a highly international profile with all classes taught in English and a student base of more than 35 different nationalities. At the very heart of their training offer is possibly Europe’s most innovative ATPL integrated program, which meets the latest and future EASA requirements and includes 40 hours in A320 Full Flight Simulator Level D, night flights in MEP, gliding training sessions or career advice. All to ensure the highest level of competency to fly as First Officer in the most demanding airlines around the world and prepare the students for real-life circumstances. The commitment of Quality Fly to digital processes and effective systems allows the school to maintain its very competitive price for the 2022 ATPL course.

 

For any further enquiries on the subject please contact csr@qualityfly.com.

Quality Fly becomes the first EU carbon-neutral flight school

Top factors to consider to become a pilot in Norway in 2022

In this article, you will learn about numerous important factors to consider if:

• You intend to pursue a profession as a pilot; and
• You are a Norwegian national.

Is it possible to get financial assistance for pilot training in Norway?

If you are a Norwegian citizen interested in pursuing a career in aviation and beginning pilot training, you are in a better position than citizens of other nations. Lånekassen, the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund, or Statens lånekasse for utdanning, is a place where you can apply for a loan.

A key point to remember is that the student loan is available to both domestic and international student pilots who aim to study within the European Economic Area (EEA), as long as the educational institution is certified by the Lånekassen.

The allowance includes a one-time payment to cover tuition costs, as well as monthly payments to cover living expenditures such as housing, travel, and other costs.

The final amount received may differ, so please check with Lånekassen to determine if you are eligible at www.lanekassen.no

What is the estimated cost of becoming a pilot?

The cost of pursuing an aviation career varies greatly depending on where the training academy is located.

A premium aviation academy with an integrated ATPL, a modern fleet, and an APS MCC will cost around 965,000 NOK (roughly 95,000 EUR).

Meanwhile, the identical training program at Quality Fly would cost between 60,000 and 70,000 EUR in a recognized academy.

• Lånekassen accepts Quality Fly as a certified training institution, and its ATPL integrated curriculum is completely eligible for the Lånekassen loan.

Why is there such a price difference between becoming a pilot in Norway and becoming a pilot in Spain?

• Wages: One of the main reasons for the substantial pricing differences between the two countries is the level of life and average monthly income. According to statistics, the average pay in Norway is 64,930 EUR per year, while the average wage in Spain is 26,832 EUR per year. In comparison to Spain, this means that labour and services will be more expensive in Norway. As a result, flight training is more expensive.
• Weather: Weather is a crucial influencing aspect; this implies that both the aircraft and instructors can fly more frequently and accumulate more hours within the month, meaning that salaries and amortization costs are split over twice as many hours, resulting in half the cost.
• Taxes: Finally, due to Norway’s high operational costs, airport taxes, and fuel costs, taxes are an essential concern. In contrast, the cost of gasoline in Spain is just slightly higher than that of a regular car.

Which county is best for becoming a pilot?

Selecting the right school is more crucial than selecting a specific nation if you want to become a pilot as a Norwegian or European Economic Area (EEA) citizen.

To put it another way, there are great flight training institutions in a few EU countries. In any case, there are a few things to think about while selecting a country:

• Weather: With an outstanding combination of sunny days and pleasant temperatures, Southern Europe offers the best flying conditions in Europe. Such pleasant weather means greater consistency in your training, which is an important component in achieving the highest level of skill and habit formation, as well as a factor that lowers the training cost. It is crucial to note that the weather in the south of Europe is not uniform, with mountain areas receiving more rain and certain locations experiencing severe heat in the summer. You can use this site to compare the weather in different cities.
• Cost of living: As previously mentioned, the cost of living in nations such as Spain or Italy differs greatly when compared to countries in northern Europe. Due to the general higher cost of living, the training, as well as the cost of living during the training period, will be more expensive.
• Regulation: All European Approved Training Organizations ATOs are required by EASA, the European Aviation Safety Agency, to undergo annual audits by the national competent authorities. Not all countries, however, demand the same amount of formality. The Spanish AESA has a historical record of high expectations, especially for complex schools that provide ATPL Integrated programs.
• International City: The city’s spirit can be a significant factor. An international city may provide more English-language services as well as a more diversified and dynamic environment in which to spend your leisure time following your training.

Madrid offers an excellent quality of life, international connections and a lively and welcoming atmosphere

Which path to becoming a pilot is the most beneficial: integrated or modular?

• In general, the Integrated route is the preferred option for applicants who have the financial means and time to complete training with fewer constraints.
• Integrated programs are significantly more demanding from a regulatory standpoint, there are fewer schools offering such programs, and they must have a high degree of quality that not all modular schools can deliver, and they are generally smaller.
• Candidates who must combine work and pilot training frequently choose the modular approach. A more in-depth description of the distinctions between modular and integrated ATPL training may be found here.

Which aviation academy is ideal for becoming a pilot?

• Licence: First and foremost, you must decide the license you want to receive. Obtaining a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) license in an Approved Training Organization, EASA ATO, is your best option as a European Economic Area (EEA) citizen, regardless of whether you wish to work as a pilot in Norway, the EU, or other countries. There are many institutions in Europe, and we urge that you thoroughly explore all of your alternatives to find the one that best suits your needs.
• Security: Observe all safety and operating procedures. Take safety into consideration, as not all maintenance facilities adhere to the highest standards. Quality Fly places considerable emphasis on safety, and is one of the few schools in Europe to complete a night flight with a Multi-Engine Piston Aircraft.
• Language: While many institutions provide English training, look for a 100% English institution where all instruction is delivered in English. With a modern glass cockpit, a modern fleet allows for improved learning and habits, as well as increased safety and reliability, and they are more environmentally friendly.
• APS MCC: While an ATPL can be obtained with a standard MCC, the industry is moving toward the APS MCC, which entails a 40-hour course rather than the 20-hour course required by a regular MCC, implying a two-fold increase in time in this part of the training, which is the most important in preparing for an airline.
• Simulators: If you have access to FFS Level D simulators for the APS MCC, it will help you learn more efficiently in the last stages of the course. In their APS MCC portion of the course, the most well-known training programs are progressively using FFS Level D.
• International environment: Being one of many in a multicultural setting is not only more welcoming but also more enriching than being the only foreigner among 90% of local students.
• Level of strictness: Some academies may approve your application if you have the funds. That is NOT a rigorous approach. The pilot training program necessitates a specific foundation and capabilities, and it is critical that these capabilities be professionally examined before you are charged a significant booking cost. Inquire about the percentage of students who passed their tests. Inquire about the percentage of cadets who are employable, which is clearly related to the admittance requirement.
• ICAO syllabus and training quality: PBN, UPRT, KSA 100, Core skills are becoming increasingly frequent as regulatory authorities demand them. However, when visiting possible schools, we recommend you to take the test and inquire about these topics and how they are taught. You’ll get a sense of the school’s level and commitment to providing high-quality education. Strict adherence to the training program, experienced teachers, and a culture that values quality above speed of hour completion are all important variables.
• Additional training or services: Some institutions include extracurricular activities such as tuition reinforcement classes, limitless access to controlled training simulators, career counselling meetings, or even glider training practice. All of these complementing factors might mean the difference between mediocre or terrible training and obtaining your best level of proficiency, including technical and soft abilities, as well as preparation for all aspects of the airline interview.

Quality Fly boasts a diverse environment that will enrich your stay abroad

 

If you’re set on becoming a pilot as a Norwegian citizen, you might also be interested in learning more about how to choose a flight school. Read our FAQ for more information on requirements, the minimum age to begin, insurance, and other topics. You can contact one of our admission professionals, attend an Open Day, or connect with one of our ambassador students via our live chat if you want to learn more.

Top factors to consider to become a pilot in Norway in 2022

5 TOP reasons to be a Flight Instructor. How to become a Flight Instructor, jobs and salary

Top 5 reasons to become a Flight Instructor

1. Enjoy your passion and ensure high professional satisfaction. The levels of fulfillment reported by Flight Instructors are often at the highest level. Indeed, guiding and training junior students in their piloting while stimulating their motivation and values is a very impactful job. As one of Quality Fly’s instructors said: This is the type of job I never want to quit, as it is transformational; instead of transporting people or goods from point A to point B, a flight instructor helps people achieve their goals and dreams, which is an important contribution to the future of the students.
2. Acquire experience and attractivity for a future career as an airline pilot. Airlines value your piloting experience including hours flown and related instruction experience. Indeed, airlines don’t just hire today’s First Officer but tomorrow’s Captain; and a captain needs to continuously train his First officers. Additionally, airlines need a considerable amount of simulator instructors, and instructor certification and experience reduce the time to be ready for such endeavours. Additionally, the instructor job requires maturity and professionalism, which is valued in all cases but in a particular way for very young candidates completing their ATPL fresh after high school. Therefore, for all these reasons, airlines value in a very significant manner the Flight Instructor Experience.
3. Enjoy a more comfortable job-life balance versus an airline job. Have you heard about jet-lag difficulties after long-distance trips? Have you been changing schedules, including wake-up at midnight and variable sleeping times? Have you been sleeping in hotels for long periods of time? Is it difficult to be based in the town you want to live in? Those are not necessarily included in an airline pilot’s life, but it is a possibility. Additionally, the effects of such changes can be non-existent for a while, and start to show a significant impact in your late thirties and forties. Some pilots prefer to enjoy a more consistent schedule and see their families every day while working as flight instructors. The salary cannot be compared with the one of a B777 captain in the middle east, but with enough experience, as a postholder and with an examiner licence, the income is often comparable to an entry-level captain’s.
4. Ensure a safe job in case of medical licence loss. The risk of medical loss is an important reason many pilots decide to pursue a career as FI, even while still flying as an airline pilot. While the risk of not passing such an exam is small, it grows slightly over the years. One solution is to pay insurance to cover such risk, another is to develop a parallel career in instruction where you can afterward capitalize on the experience acquired as an airline pilot. Medical licence loss implies you cannot fly as an instructor either, but you can instruct in the simulator in IR and MCC phases, as well as deliver theoretical training and be a post-holder within an Airline Training Organization.
5. Enjoy a side job while working in an airline. You might not be willing to have a second job during the first year in an airline, but over time you might have a decent amount of free time, depending on the length of the flights. Many airline pilots miss flying a piston engine, the sensations of flying visual, taking off and landing in a small airport, feeling the airplane… Combining airline jobs with instruction allows you to enjoy the best of each different aviation environment.

The views instructors get to see every day never get old

 

How to become a Flight instructor

There are generally two paths to becoming a Flight Instructor:

• The most common one involves the completion of a Flight Instructor course once you have obtained your ATPL. You can read information about our course here.
• Another possible path involves joining the instructor path after having gained experience in commercial aviation. Indeed, after a significant amount of hours in Instrumental flying and in multi-pilot aircraft, you can opt for the licences of IRI and MCCI instructor. Such licences will not allow you to instruct in SEP VFR, thus becoming a less flexible asset for the school, but your experience in the airline will be valued by the school and your students.

Flight Instructor Career Path – How many hours to become a Flight Instructor?

The Flight instructor professional path has a number of steps, in a similar way as airline pilots progress through the 2nd officer, 1st officer, and captain positions, and gain seniority and eventually new Type Ratings.

1. FI Restricted. You can work as Flight Instructor following the completion of the FI course, in Visual Flight Rules, and with some restrictions like requiring supervision until reaching a minimum number of hours. Upon completion of such hours, you can work without supervision.
2. Night Rating. You can start instructing at night after flying with a night rated instructor
3. FI CPL. When reaching 200 instruction hours, you will be able to instruct CPL students
4. Instrument Rating. Once you have completed an Instrument rating instruction and if you have 200 hours of IFR you can instruct for an Instrument rating.
5. Multi-Engine Class Rating. Following completion of the multi-engine class rating instruction and having 30 hours as a pilot in command of multi-engine piston aircraft, you will be able to instruct for multi-engine piston rating.
6. Fi of FI. Once you achieve 500 hours of flight experience as an instructor, you can obtain an upgrade to be able to train flight instructors
7. Postholder positions are often available for senior FI, such as Chief Flight Instructor (CFI), Head of Training (HT), Safety Manager (SM), Compliance Monitoring Manager (CMM), and Chief Theory Knowledge Instructor (CTKI).
8. Once enough experience is gained, and following the required additional training and exams, the position of flight examiner can be accessed.

Needless to say, there is plenty of development within the FI career.

Salary of a Flight Instructor

The salary of a Flight instructor increases with seniority and capabilities as it does for an airline pilot. For the values of the following table note that it is standardized for Spain, and that the equivalent salary with the same Purchasing Power in countries such as Sweden, the UK, or Germany is approximately double, same as living costs.

1. Basic level, from restricted FI to CPL. The basic starting salary is similar to any other entry-level position, clearly above the minimum salary, but not by a huge margin.
2. Night Rating FI and FI of FI. As experience is gained the following steps are typically the NVFR Instruction and the FI of FI rating. The salary for such type of instruction increases significantly by about 30 to 50% compared to the basic salary, plus in some cases, there is a bonus for the night flight. Important to note though that only some of the flight hours are done as NVFR FI or FI of FI.
3. Instrument Rating. Instructors with privileges to instruct instrument rating will have an important increase in seniority, not just for the increased capabilities but the experience required to achieve this rating. The salary increases by 40 to 50% from that of an entry-level flight instructor and a higher number of hours can be performed in IR simulator instruction.
4. ME Instructor. This is the most senior level of flight Instruction. The salary increases by another 40 to 50% compared to the IR compensation. Other ratings such as UPRT FI are also considered high seniority, but the volume of work is usually not as high.
5. Following a high level of seniority, there is the option to combine the FI position with the functions of postholder in a flight academy, in positions such as CFI, HT, CTKI, CMM, and SM; which adds not only interest but salary to the FI position. These acronyms stand for Chief Flight Instructor, Head of Training, Chief Theoretical Knowledge Instructor, Compliance Monitoring Manager, and Safety Manager.
6. Once a pretty significant experience has been gained, one of the last steps that can be achieved within the Flight Instructor career is to become a Flight Examiner. Not only is it a position with an important responsibility to ensure that anyone with a licence is capable to fly the relevant licence or rating, but the additional salary makes a significant addition to the FI compensation, as any pilot reading this article knows after having paid a few examiner fees.

In conclusion, while an aircraft with 180 passengers can obviously pay for more than one-to-one training, the retribution increases with increased levels of seniority. In particular, salary can get to a significantly good level when combining a senior instruction position, with a postholder position and or with an examiner rating. And all that with a stable base, without the need to leave home for long trips, and seeing your husband or wife every night. That last point is judged by many as an upside, but that’s for you to decide!

Can I combine a FI position with airline or executive flying?

Yes. Not only the can FI position be combined, but it offers an excellent experience to bring the knowledge from the Executive aviation or the airline to the SEP cockpit. That is something highly desirable by the flight schools in terms of training, and it is often the goal for those FI who are passionate about instruction but want to continue flying big aircraft and developing as pilots.

It is important to consider that Flight Time Limitations (FTL) and roster requirements make it often difficult to combine Airline requirements with FI positions. That depends, though, on the intensity of the roster and the type of load as FI, either being in flight or in a simulator, which allows more flexibility.

Executive aviation and airline long-haul positions usually offer a much higher amount of free time, allowing the combination with flight or simulator instruction or even teaching as Ground Instructor.

Furthermore, having a flight instructor certificate will help you achieve instructor positions in the airlines. Having it will reduce the amount of training necessary for the courses to become an airline instructor.

Finally, you can get pilot-in-command hours (PIC) that are required for an unfrozen ATPL License.

Can I combine Flight Instruction with Ground Instruction?

Yes, you can, and it is recommended by many instructors if you like it. However, do not expect to deliver 5 hours of ground training in the afternoon after having flown 4 hours in the morning. Flight instruction is a demanding task, and there is only so much additional work you can do following your Flight Instructor dedication. In any case, it is not only interesting for the instructor, but also for the student, as there is a stronger link between ground and flight training. The school can have a compact team of instructors with very high knowledge of the students.

How do I choose the best Flight school to become a Flight Instructor?

Theoretical part

It is interesting to find a school that places enough importance on the theoretical part. Since the regulation is only specific to the syllabus of Teaching and Learning, theoretical training is often disregarded. A good FI course can include some of the following elements:

• Teaching and Learning, ideally taught by a very talented instructor with experience in both general and commercial aviation.
• ICAO Core competencies.
• Soft skills
• UPRT
• KSA
• Instruction regulations
• Instructor shadowing
• Practices in both classroom and simulator
• In any case, we strongly recommend you to ask for the detailed ground school syllabus of the FI course.

Flight part

It is also important to be sure that the instructors you’ll train with have the right experience. Learning from a variety of instructors will allow you to absorb more information.

In general, it is advisable to complete the Flight Instructor course in a School with a strict level of adherence to Standard Operating Procedures, a high level of digitalization, with practices that include the best from both General aviation and commercial aviation.

Entry requirements to become a flight instructor

• Hold a CPL(A)
• 30 hours in single-engine piston-powered aeroplanes of which at least 5 hours shall have been completed during the last 6 months
• Pass the pre-entry assessment

5 TOP reasons to be a Flight Instructor. How to become a Flight Instructor, jobs and salary